Repercussions
by Jenny De Book Worm
Summary: When a dark secret from her past makes a reappearance, Max, her older brother Ari, and their father Jeb are forced to leave the only place they've called home. They move to the largest nearby city they can find in hopes of blending in but just as fate would have it, Max's secret follows them and threatens to disrupt the new life they've made and their new friends along the way. Fax
1. Goodbye Arizona

**CHAPTER ONE: Goodbye Arizona**

"Maaaax!" Jeb called in his descent up the staircase. "Are you awake?" He made his way down the hall and threw open a bedroom door.

In the middle of the empty room, there Max lay on a single queen sized mattress on the floor, surrounded by labeled cardboard boxes and duffel bags.

"Max." Jeb sighed. "It's time to get up! We have to get going!" He walked around the bed and shook his daughter's shoulders. Max groaned and shoved her head under the pillows. "Maximum get your butt up. The moving truck is already outside!" Jeb continued to shake her and when he got no response, he pulled the blankets off her and began to tickle her.

"Noooo!" Max gasped, trying not to laugh. "I don't want to move! I like living in Arizona with the scorching heat and stuck up high school students. I refuse to go." She said in between giggles.

Jeb stopped tickling her and sighed. "I know. But everything's packed and we really do have to go." There was a long pause where none of them said anything, they just sat with solemn expressions. Then Max stood with a huff and turned to Jeb.

"I'll just pack up this bedding and then you can send Ari up to put the mattress in the truck..." She told him quietly. He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room. Max waited till he left to plop back down on the mattress. Her eyes trailed over every inch of her room, from the bare walls to the spotless carpet. "I'm really going to miss this place..." She murmured and then stood again.

Without a further thought, Max grabbed a set of clothes from a packed bag and headed to the bathroom.

(~*~Time Skip~*~)

"You know it wouldn't kill you to help, Max!" Ari gruffed as he struggled to drag the mattress down the stairs.

Max smirked slightly and ignored her brother, taking one last look around her childhood house. "I still don't see how you're okay with this." She commented, glancing at Ari. He just shrugged. "This place is our home, Ari! We grew up here. Went to school here. What about all our friends? Aren't you going to miss them?" She continued. "How can Jeb just wake up one day and decide to move us to a gigantic city where we don't know anyone?"

"Ah back to calling your dear old dad by his first name, are we?" Jeb asked as he stepped into the house. Max glared. "Look sweetie, you know why we have to move." He said gently.

"Yeah I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." She muttered and went over to help Ari shove the mattress out the front door. Jeb followed and helped them toss it in the moving truck.

"Alright have you guys got everything packed?"

"I just need to get one more box from my room." Max replied and raced back into the house.

Ari turned to Jeb. "She'll be fine at our new place, dad." He said reassuringly.

Jeb smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I hope so."

Max returned with a heavy looking box in one arm and something else the boys couldn't make out before she stuffed it into her pocket. "Okay. Let's go." She sighed.

Jeb nodded and hopped in the driver's seat of the truck. Max and Ari walked further down the driveway and unlocked Max's blue rusty Toyota pickup that she got on her sixteenth birthday. Max tossed Ari the keys.

"Here." She said. "You drive."

Ari caught the keys swiftly and stared at her, astonished. "Wow, you must really be upset about moving. You never let me drive your truck..."

She only shrugged and got into the passenger's seat. He jumped in and turn on the engine. Jeb stuck his hand out the window of the moving truck and waved them forward. Ari pulled out of the driveway and followed closely behind Jeb.

Max watched as her beloved, two story childhood house disappeared from sight.


	2. Hello San Francisco

**CHAPTER TWO: Hello San Francisco**

The move into their new loft was surprisingly easy. Finding parking on the other hand, not so much.

"Ugh, why don't lofts come with garages?" Ari raged after spending an hour driving around the block, looking for parking. Max sat in the passenger seat with her forehead pressed against the glass window.

"Because they're lofts." She answered smartly.

Ari scoffed and then shouted with triumph when he spotted a car pulling away from the curb. "Finally!" He sang happily pulled into the empty space. Max just shook her head at him and got out, and began instanting scanning her surroundings with distaste.

There was everything from two-story apartments to restaurants and buildings squished together on one block. Across the street Max saw their building with Jeb standing outside of it.

"C'mon." Max tugged on Ari's sleeve and dodged through traffic to cross the road with Ari hot on her heels.

"Hey kids!" Jeb greeted them.

"Did you know people park on the sidewalk in San Francisco?" Ari responded, pointing.

"Yes, Ari." Jeb chuckled and Max rolled her eyes.

"It's just so weird..." Ari muttered. "But at least we are finally out of that car!"

"Yeah, that was a long drive, huh?"

"Yup, and I had to sit next to this crazy person the entire time." Ari said, pointing his bandaged finger at Max and then cradling it with his other hand.

Max make a fake hurt expression. "What? I warned you not to touch my radio!"

"I didn't think you would actually bite me!"

"Hey, my car, my rules. I specifically said, 'Do not change the station. If you touch my radio you will lose a finger'."

Ari opened his mouth to shout back when Jeb waved a hand in between them. "Oi! You two, stop bickering and help me figure out how to work this thing." He said, gesturing to the intercom system by the front doors.

Max walked over, pressed the red button at the bottom, and shouted into the speaker, "Open the doors already, jackass! Your new tenants have arrived!"

Jeb stared at his daughter, appalled. And when there was a loud buzz and the double doors swung open, Max smiled at him innocently.

"Well alright. Good going, Max." Jeb said and rushed inside. The two of them followed after him into the lobby.

At the front desk was an older African American man with greying hair wearing a nice black suit and tie. He was glaring directly at Max. She gave an awkwardly cough and muttered, "Sorry I called you a jackass." The man accepted her apology with a nod then turned to Jeb.

"You're Jeb Batchelder?" He asked.

"Ah, yes." Jeb answered.

"May I see some identification to make sure?"

After Jeb flashed him his driver's license and the man nodded, he reached for something behind the desk.

"My name is Alfred, and I'm your new door man." He informed them and then handed Jeb a key. "Your loft is on the fifth floor."

Jeb smiled and thanked him. "Alright guys, lets grab as much stuff as we can and shove it into that elevator." Jeb told them and they headed to the moving truck.

They were walking back into the building with arms full of boxes when Max paused. "Oh! Ari, I need my keys. I forgot something in the car." She said. Ari tossed her the keys and she rushed back to her truck. Waiting until Jeb and Ari had fully disappeared into the building, Max unlocked the car and opened the glove box. She pulled out the object she had previous shoved into her pocket back when they were leaving Arizona. She managed to take it out and put it in the glove box for safekeeping while Ari was using the restroom at the gas station they'd stopped at.

She quickly slipped the object into one of her boxes and locked the car, then headed back into the building. She was just walking into the elevator when the person heading out of it ran into her and knocked her flat on her back.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" She shouted and picked herself up, along with her fallen boxes.

"Oh sorry." The guy that ran into her apologized. She studied him for a moment. He looked around her age and was abnormally tall, with short strawberry blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. "Guess I didn't see you coming." He said and then laughed loudly, like he just made the most hilarious joke in the world.

She stood there awkwardly. "Oh! I'm blind." He explained. "That's why I uh...didn't see you coming..." She stared, shocked, at his eyes which she now noticed were glazed over and looking just right of her face.

"Oh. Sorry..." She murmured and then pressed the button to the elevator again and waited.

"I'm Iggy, by the way." The guy said as he stood next to her.

"Nice to meet you." She responded.

"So did you just move in? You seem unfamiliar to me."

"No offense, but considering I just met you, and you could be some creepy stalker dude for all I know, I think I'll keep that information to myself." And with that the elevator door binged and then opened. Max stepped inside.

"So you _do _live here." Iggy concluded with a chuckle. "I live on the fifth floor. And it was nice to meet you too!" He called as the elevator doors shut.

When Max arrived at the fifth floor she noticed that there was only one narrow hallway that had three different doors leading to three different lofts. She walked down the hall to the last door, which happened to be open and displaying Ari and Jeb running around, putting away the boxes labeled with which room they should be in.

She laughed at them and walked in, taking in the layout of the place. The first thing she noted was that nearly every wall in the place, except for the kitchen tile, was made up of a tough-looking brick exterior. The boys managed to haul in the black leather sofa and coffee table into the living room area. Boxes filled with books that would later be on shelves, movies, and games were stacked on top of the coffee table. Directly across from that was the kitchen, complete with a wrap-around counter top, stove, oven, and sink. The tiles on the wall were a light beige color and the floors were hardwood. Beyond that was the staircase, leading up to what would become Jeb's open office that lead to his bedroom, where the walls matched the beige kitchen tiles. Under the office was Max and Ari's rooms, and a bathroom that they would have to share. **(A/N: Loft on profile)**

"Max!" Jeb said, catching her attention. She turned to him. "Ari chose the bigger bedroom so yours is on the left. But it overlooks the garden." He added. Max shrugged, not really caring about the size of her new bedroom. Just living here was enough to fret about.

With that Max walked into her new room. She was surprised to see that the walls didn't match the rest of the loft. They were a dark grey color with black vertical lines every few inches. She set her boxes down and explored. The closet was decently sized, as well as the rest of the room, and she was glad to see her room was the closest to the bathroom so she could beat Ari to the shower in the morning.

"Hmmm...I actually kind of like it..." She muttered to herself.

"Good." Jeb said from the doorway. She jumped in surprise.

"If only I had something to throw at you for sneaking up on me."

"C'mon, let's go get the rest of your boxes." Jeb chuckled.

(~*~Time Skip~*~)

Max had was settled into her new room by the time Jeb called for dinner. Her bed was now on its frame, and made with her black and white duvet and millions on pillows. Next to it was her night stand, with her desk and computer under the window, and on the opposite wall of the closet. And even though she hated moving and was never going to get used to living in a big city like this, she was pretty satisfied with the way her room looked.

_At least I have an awesome place to sulk in_, she thought, and wondered if Ari was done with his room too.

"Guys, dinner is done!" Jeb shouted from the kitchen.

Max and Ari bolted from their rooms and raced to the stools at the kitchen counter. Jeb laughed at them and then set their plates down in front of them. They immediately started scarfing down the food when Jeb cleared his throat and stared at them expectantly.

"What?" Ari asked with a mouth full of food.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you guys..." Jeb answered. They swallowed their food nervously and waited for him to continue. "Well, obviously Max you have to go to school...so before we left Arizona I enrolled you in the nearest high school here in San Francisco..."

Max froze and slowly lifted her eyes to Jeb's. He waited for her to yell or protest but all she did was glare.

He continued. "You start class Monday. And Ari..." Ari froze mid-chew. "You're twenty-two now and not attending college so I think you should get a job."

Ari frowned deeply. There was a long moment of tense silence which was broken when Max stood up quickly, knocking her stool over.

"I should've expected this." She said, more to herself than to Jeb, and stormed out the front door.

Ari took one glance at his food, then at Jeb, and followed after Max.


	3. The First Day Proves To Be Interesting

**CHAPTER THREE: The First Day Proves To Be Interesting**

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Hey fanfiction readers! So I wasn't really going to do many author's notes in this story because I usually end up sounding extremely awkward or weird...Annnnnnyways...I just had to thank those who reviewed my story, Girl With No Account and fallingstars97, your words were incredibly inspiring and I really appreciated it...So thank you (: I hope you continue reading and enjoy!  
**__**~J**_

Max didn't know exactly where she was going when she tore open the double doors of the lobby and ran out onto the sidewalk. She was in a strange and unfamiliar city and was weirded out by the fact that it was night and a bunch of people were still walking the streets. She was just about to turn right when she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped in surprise.

"Ari." She sighed when she turned around.

"Hey..." Ari replied and scratched the back of his head. "So this sucks..."

"Yeah." She agreed and began walking. He followed. They continued walking in silence until Max eventually said, "I'm sorry, Ari."

He shot her a confused look.

"I'm sorry I bit your finger when you tried to change my radio station."

He just laughed and waved it away.

"And I'm sorry it's my fault we had to move...and you have to get a new job..."

"It's okay, Max." He said. "I'm sorry you have to go to a new school with a bunch of preppy city kids."

She laughed and shook her head. "I should probably apologize to Je- dad. I've been so awful to him lately."

"Probably." Ari agreed. Max punched him in the shoulder and they laughed. "Look, Max." Ari said, suddenly serious. "What happened was not your fault...and even if it all started because of what you did, you had no control over what Meg-"

"I know." She interrupted, not wanting to talk about it.

"You should forgive yourself." He concluded.

Max only shrugged and they continued walking until they had made a complete circle around the block and were now back in front of their building. They wordlessly walked in. Alfred nodded to them from behind the desk as they made their way to the elevator. As Ari pressed the button for the fifth floor, Max sighed and rested her head against her brother's shoulder.

"I really don't want to go to school tomorrow." She told him.

"I know."

(~*~Time Skip~*~)

"_Are you sure about this, Ride?" Meg, the leader, questioned._

_Max nodded swiftly and jutted out her chin. "I'm sure." She confirmed._

_Meg grinned, a sickly smile, and motioned to the people behind her. They formed around Max in a circle and stared at her with expressions she didn't quite understand. They looked...excited?_

"_If you want to be one of us," Meg began, walking around the circle slowly, "you'll have to undergo some...tests...first."_

"_Alright." Max agreed._

"_Then we shall begin now. GO!"_

"_Wait what are the test-?" Max paused when the people who encircled her began to inch closer and closer. "Hey, ever heard of personal space?" She snapped. But they continued approaching and she suddenly realized she'd made a huge mistake- and was surrounded with no way out. Panic flared in her chest. The people stopped just short of touching her and raised their fists. "Oh God..."_

"_If you survive this test, you are on your way to becoming one of us." Meg said and faded into the shadows._

"_Wait!" Max cried. "I don't-" She was cut off by a dozen fists coming down on her._

"Max!" Jeb shouted and she bolted upright. "What the heck were you dreaming about?" He asked from where he stood at the foot of her bed, looking concerned.

Max wiped the sweat from her brow. "Nothing..." She answered quietly. Jeb didn't look convinced but didn't question her any further.

"I came in because your alarm has been going off for five minutes." He said, pointing to the clock on her night stand.

"Guess I didn't hear it..." She said sheepishly and tossed the blankets to the side.

"Well you should get ready for your first day...breakfast will be done soon." He said with the same concern on his face, and retreated from the room.

Max watched him go and slumped her shoulders when he shut the door. A sense of familiarity came over her as she realized it didn't matter where she moved or how far away she was from Arizona: her past would always be with her.

With that cheerful thought she got up and stretched. _Might as well get this over with..._she mentally sighed and dragged her feet over to the closet. Pulling out a random pair of jeans and a shirt, along with her favorite pair of knee-high combat boots, Max thought she might as well try and look semi-presentable. **(A/N: Outfit on profile.)**

She scooped up her clothes and headed to the shower just as Ari was coming out of his room.

"Max wait-" He called but she had alright shut the bathroom door with a grin. Ari's loud groan and comment about 'the abnormally long amount of time girls spend in the bathroom' was heard through the door.

(~*~Time Skip~*~)

Max was just slipping on her lucky guitar pick necklace when Ari walked past the bathroom and glared at her. She smiled in return and followed him into the kitchen where the smell of pancakes was wafting toward them. They sat down at the counter.

There was an eerie silence until Max broke it with a groan. "Dad?"

Jeb turned from his pancake-making to look at her.

"I'm sorry I've been so hard on you about moving." She blurted. "I know it's not your fault we have to move and I'm sorry."

Jeb smiled. "That's quite alright, sweetheart. Are you excited for your first day?" He asked, relieved that the tension in the room was gone.

"Not really." She admitted.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." He assured while putting their plates of pancakes in front of them. Ari started wolfing his down while Max just stared at hers. "I mean, you're a Junior heading into your second semester, so really you only have one and a half more years of high school anyways."

His logic somehow cheered her up and she nodded in agreement before devouring her pancakes.

"Isn't anybody going to ask me how my job hunting is going?" Ari asked with a pout.

"Didn't you just start looking for one today?" Max inquired and Ari shrugged.

"How's your job hunting going, son?" Jeb asked.

"Horrible! Nobody wants to hire a twenty-two year old with no college degree, still living at home with his dad and kid sister." He whined. Jeb only stared at him with amusement.

"Maybe he'll have better luck getting a girlfriend." Jeb said to Max.

"Doubt it." She replied. Ari scowled. "Ah, I've got to go." She said, checking the time on her phone. She stood and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Pick you up at three!" Jeb called as she walked to the door.

She turned the knob and paused, looking at Ari. "Hey, I know where you could get hired!" She said.

Ari brightened. "Where?"

"The arcade with all of the other misfit children." She answered and quickly ducked out the door as Ari threw something at her- and missed. She could hear Jeb laughing as she walked down the hall.

Smiling to herself and thinking her first day might not be so bad after all, Max was just about to reach the elevator when the last of the loft front doors opened and out came the blind guy, Iggy, nearly running into her for the second time.

"New girl from yesterday?" He asked, sensing Max as she jumped out of the way.

"How'd you know it was me?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Your footsteps." He replied simply and they entered the elevator together.

"My footsteps?"

"Yeah. For one, they're light. Letting me know you're a girl. And well you walk differently than any other girl I've met." He explained.

"Huh." Was all she said and they rode down to the lobby in silence.

"So now that you know I'm not a creepy stalker dude," Iggy paused to wave in Alfred's general direction as they passed him. Alfred waved back even though Iggy couldn't see it. He smiled knowingly anyways and continued speaking. "It would be common courtesy for me to know your name, seeing as you know mine and all..."

Max rolled her eyes but smiled and opened the door for them. "My names Max."

"Ah. Nice to meet you once again, Max. Where are you headed so early in the day?" He asked as they walked out onto the sidewalk.

"School." Max answered with an involuntary groan.

Iggy chuckled. "It wouldn't happen to be Lowell High School just down the block, would it?"

Max squinted at him suspiciously. "You said you weren't a creepy stalker dude..."

"I'm not!" He laughed. "I go to that school too."

Max was too fascinated by the way Iggy managed to stay on the sidewalk while dodging people and keeping pace with her at the same time to respond with anything more intelligent than, "Oh."

"You're staring at me, aren't you?"

"Yeah sorry...it's just really cool you can walk and dodge people perfectly fine even though you can't see..." She said with a quiet apology afterward.

"Don't be. It just takes lots of practice and years of living in this city." He explained.

Soon they arrived at the school and were walking up the front steps. Max chewed her lip nervously as she glanced around. The parking lot was filled with more kids than the amount of kids that even attended her old high school.

"So..." She said casually as they reached the front doors. "Is the majority of the student body here preppy rich kids?"

"Yes." Iggy admitted. "But not me and my friends." He assured.

Max was only able to nod as a response once she entered the school. Her first thoughts: _Holy crap. It's like a maze in here...and this is only the indoor hall! _She noticed the halls weren't crowded with people like she was used to, but that's probably because the school was at least three times the size of her school in Arizona.

"Would it be extremely rude of me to ask a blind guy to point me in the direction of the main office?" She asked ruefully.

Iggy laughed and took her arm. "I'll show you the way." He guided her halfway down the first hall, took a left down a separate hall, and stopped at the first door on the right with an** 'OFFICE'** sign above it. Max began to bite her bottom lip raw by now.

_Why am I so nervous?_ She scolded herself. _I've been through much worse than just a stupid first day at a new school. _Then as Iggy was pushing open the glass door she realized it wasn't nervousness she was feeling- it was dread. Straightening her back, and pushing her bangs out of her eyes which just plopped right back down a second later anyways, Max strode through the door with a surge of confidence. She surveyed her surroundings.

On the back wall of the fairly spacious room was a row of uncomfortable-looking waiting-room chairs, with nearly every chair occupied by a sketchy-looking student. On the wall across from that one was the front desk with multiple smaller desks behind it and people occupying those desks. Then there was the so-hot-it's-impossible-to-miss-him guy leaning on his elbows at the front desk.

Max picked up some of his and the office lady's conversation as she and Iggy approached.

"Look, I would really appreciate it if we could change my schedule. It's just one class!" The guy exclaimed.

"Exactly. Just one class so why is it such a big deal?" The woman behind the desk asked.

"Because." The guy groaned and put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry Mr. Craw, but all the other classes are full."

It looked like the guy was going to say something he'd regret later when Iggy suddenly strode up to him.

"Fang!" Iggy said loudly and patted the guy on the back. He raised his head and when he saw Iggy, all of the annoyance drained from his face. "Trying to get out of that class you have with Lissa?" Iggy guessed.

"Yes." Fang answered exasperatedly. "And since when are all of the classes full?" He asked and turned to the lady.

"Since we have a new student." She answered and gestured to Max. Max looked at them in surprise and slowly walked over to the front desk. "You're Maximum Ride, right?"

"It's just Max." Max answered, shifting uncomfortably under Fang's intense stare.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up. Here's your schedule and map." The woman handed her a messy array of papers which Max took gratefully.

"I'll show Maxie to her classes!" Iggy offered and began dragging her and Fang to the door.

Max stopped him by placing a hand to his chest. "Call me Maxie again," She warned in a serious tone, "And the next time you go to sleep you will not wake up in your bed." Then with a look of complete innocence she said, "Just ask my brother." And skipped out the door.

Iggy blinked repeatedly, turned to Fang, who didn't offer any words in response as usual, and then grinned and followed after Max.

Fang shook his head, a small smile playing at his lips. "This day might prove to be interesting after all."


End file.
